General Motors Announces Plans To Ramp Up Electric Car Production Over Next 5 Years

07.10.2017

First we had Ford announcing the formation of its new Team Edison unit to focus on electric cars. Now we have Mark Reuss, vice president of global product development for General Motors, announcing that his company will introduce two new EV models in the next 18 months, with a total of 20 planned by the end of 2023. “GM believes the future is all electric,” Reuss said.

He admits the process is complex, saying there won’t be “one year where we flip a switch and it’s all electric.” Feedback from customers will be important in deciding which products to build. “An electric solution cannot be one size fits all. We believe you need both battery electric and fuel cell electric. How we apply each of these technologies will depend on what we hear from customers about their needs.”

That fuel cell reference pertains to GM’s new Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure (SURUS) platform — a fuel cell electric heavy duty truck with four wheel steering. It will have two electric motors and a flexible design that can be configured for use in delivery vans, truck, or ambulances.

GM boss Mary Barra has said recently that her company’s focus is on “zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.” Its partnership with Lyft and Cruise Automation will take care of the first and the last of those objectives. Electric and fuel cell vehicles will take care of the zero emissions part.

GM, like all automakers, is anxious to cash in on the red hot SUV/crossover segment of the market. It showed off its very cool FNX-R at the Shanghai auto show earlier this year, a plug-in hybrid vehicle that should have customers drooling while they reach for their wallets. The company says it has developed new battery pack architecture that has two different heights for different vehicle sizes. Perhaps one of those configurations would slide under the floor of the FNR-X to make a compelling all electric SUV?

Refueling infrastructure for hydrogen-powered cars is nonexistent outside of California, and it’s rare even there. GM seems to believe that its fuel cell vehicles would be targeted first at military, commercial, and utility vehicle applications for customers who would install refueling rigs at their base locations. Infrastructure for private car owners would follow along afterwards.

It was only 5 years ago when electric cars were thought of as mere curiosities that would take decades to go mainstream. Suddenly, every manufacturer the world over is rushing to get electric cars to market. It only takes a few countries like France, England, India, and China talking about possible bans on cars with internal combustion engines to wake up the suits in corporate boardrooms around the world.

The EV revolution has begun and those who don’t answer the call may soon find themselves out of business, no matter how far back they can trace their corporate lineage.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Lush Brews Up Recycled Coffee Cup Packaging Breakthrough

06.10.2017

The UK’s High Street coffee chains may be under fire over the billions of single use coffee cups they produce each year, the vast majority of which are not recycled. But they could be about to get a helping hand from one of their neighbours.

Cosmetics retail chain Lush announced this week that it is to introduce new in-store packaging made from 100 per cent recycled coffee cup fibre.

The company, which has long prided itself on its green credentials and use of natural materials, said it had teamed up James Cropper 3D Products to create a bespoke piece of packaging for its solid bath oils.

The product will be made using COLOURFORM, which is described as “a sustainable alternative to plastic and other packaging materials”.

The product is fully recyclable with household paper and is also naturally biodegradable, leaving no trace even if it does end up in landfill, the company said.

Lush’s Kirstie Maclean said the new packaging had been developed in response to “sincere considerations around waste, single use materials and functional design”.

She added that the company had worked closely with James Cropper to deliver a “slick, sustainable, lightweight and transportable box” that met aesthetic requirements while overcoming potential technical challenges, such as the material’s ability to withstand the moisture of products.

The packaging is now set to be introduced in UK stores before being rolled out to Lush’s international outlets.

Matthew Miller, business director at James Cropper 3D Products, said the new COLOURFORM material could “revolutionise the packaging industry”.

“As more brands like Lush come on board and ditch plastic where possible, we can really amplify our protest against waste and collectively move towards a more sustainable future,” he said.

The product is the latest in a series of initiatives to identify potential end uses for coffee cups, which have been the source of high profile complaints over their low recycling rates.

Disposable coffee cups can be recycled, but there is limited capacity in the UK and collection facilities – a scenario that has led to a series of public campaigns calling on coffee companies to provide more recycling services.

Source: businessgreen.com

BNP Paribas Launches €100m Green Bond, as Sector Confirms Record 2017 Performance

06.10.2017

Energija vetra, trubina, vetro, vetar — Photo: Pixabay

BNP Paribas Asset Management has this week launched a new €100m green bond focused on mitigating or addressing climate-related issues.

The news came just days after the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) confirmed that the record 2016 green bonds total of $81.6bn has already been surpassed with $83bn in green bonds having closed as of late last month.

BNP Paribas said its new Parvest Green Bond would use a proprietary integrated engagement approach to identify investments that are expected to have the “most positive environmental impact”.

The company said the new bond would build on its strong track record in the sustainable investment market with nearly €30bn in SRI strategies, including more than €500m.

It also argued the new bond would form part of a fast-growing market, noting that the emergence of sovereign green bonds such as the French government’s recent €8.6bn issue had added “greater liquidity and depth to the market”.

Felipe Gordillo, senior ESG analyst, and Arnaud-Guilhem Lamy, manager of Parvest Green Bond, issued a statement arguing that green bonds remain one of the most effective mechanisms for tackling climate change.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and green bonds are one of the best ways to finance activities with low greenhouse gas emissions and to support low-carbon and climate-resilient development,” they said. “Meanwhile the rapid expansion of the green bond market means that it is now diversified enough to offer a genuine investment solution.”

The launch came as the CBI confirmed the sector had already set a new record for 2017 and was on track to meet its $130bn forecast for this year.

Source: businessgreen.com

US Renewables Grew 10% In 1st Half Of 2017

06.10.2017

Obnovljivi izvori — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Renewable energy sources in the United States grew by another 10% in the first half of 2017, according to new figures published by the country’s Energy Information Administration and highlighted by Ken Bossong’s Sun Day Campaign.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published its Monthly Energy Review, with data through to the end of the first half of 2017 revealing that the country’s strong production and integration of renewable energy capacity has continued through the first half of the year at the same time that demand for nuclear power and fossil fuels declined.

Specifically, renewable energy sources provided for 13.5% of domestic energy production during the first half of 2017 compared to 12.6% in the same period a year earlier. Energy produced was 10.3% higher than a year ago and 21.3% higher than two years ago, while consumption similarly grew, increasing from 9.6% in 2015 and 10.8% in 2016 up to 11.9% in the first half of 2017.

Conversely, energy output from nuclear and coal power has dropped significantly. Nuclear power plants contributed 3.3% less energy in the first half of 2017 than a year ago, and now accounts for only 9.4% of the country’s energy production and only 8.4% of energy consumption.

Despite the fact that the United States managed to increase coal production by 16.1% during the first half of the year, the country’s overall consumption of fossil fuel energy sources continued to decline, slipping from 81.7% of total energy use in the first half of 2015 to 80.3% in the first half of 2016, and to 79.5% in 2017.

“Notwithstanding desperate efforts by the Trump Administration to prop up nuclear power and fossil fuels, they continue to lose ground to the mix of renewable energy sources,” explained Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign, who each month is responsible for putting EIA’s data-intensive figures into context. “Time to wake up and smell the coffee, Mr. President!”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Procter & Gamble Plans to Help Wash Away Plastic Pollution with New Fairy Liquid Bottle

06.10.2017

fairyoceanplastic-580x358 — Foto: Procter & Gamble

Washing up liquid brand Fairy Liquid is hoping to clean up the world’s oceans with the unveiling today of its new recycled plastic bottle, made with 10 per cent ocean plastic.

The Fairy Oceans Plastic Bottles, developed in partnership with TerraCycle, are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, including 10 per cent ocean plastic, in a move brand owner Procter & Gamble hopes will raise awareness of ocean plastic pollution.

Greenpeace estimates around 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and experts fear that if pollution continues at its current rate there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050.

“As the world’s no. 1 dishwashing liquid globally and a much-loved brand in the UK, we want to use Fairy to raise awareness about the plight of our ocean and raise awareness about the importance of recycling,” Procter & Gamble’s vice president of global sustainability Virginie Helias said. “Our consumers care deeply about this issue and by using ocean plastic we hope to show that the opportunities are endless when we rethink our approach to waste.”

The bottles will be available to buy from 2018, and initially P&G plans to produce 320,000 bottles in what it claims will be the biggest production run of its kind in the world.

The consumer goods giant – which also owns brands such as Dawn, Dreft, and Joy – already carries an average of 40 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic in its bottles, diverting around 8,000 tonnes of plastic from landfill every year.

Earlier this year it launched plans for the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made with beach plastic, for its Head and Shoulders brand.

Source: businessgreen.com

ABB Powers Up Largest Solar Power Plant In South America

06.10.2017

ABB is on the move. The Swedish company has recently expanded into the US by purchasing GE’s Industrial Solutions division, announced a new EV charger with up to 350 kW of power, and agreed to build the largest lithium ion battery manufacturing plant in Europe in partnership with Northvolt.

But that is just the tip of the ABB iceberg. The company is also heavily involved in building solar power plants, including one in the Atacama Desert, a 1000 kilometer strip 400 miles north of Santiago, Chile. The Atacama is one of the harshest climates in the world. Temperatures soar to over 40º C during the day and plunge to -5º C at night. It is also one of the driest places on earth.

Known as El Romero, the 246 MW facility covers 700 acres of desert and can produce 500 megawatt-hours of electricity annually — enough to power 240,000 homes. Compared to coal-fired generating facilities, El Romero can keep 473,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year.

The main customer for the power created by the El Romero solar power plant is a data center for a global tech company. Spanish independent power producer ACCIONA was engaged to make the electricity from El Romero into an uninterruptible power supply for the data center. Solar inverters from ABB were a big part of that process.

“The El Romero Solar Plant was a huge feat of engineering in hostile conditions that saw ABB work closely with ACCIONA to install solar solutions that provide 100% of the data center’s clean energy, says ABB spokesperson Alfredo Diez-Hochleitner. “We are proud of our ongoing investment in energy efficient solar technology that can operate in the most challenging environments, together with our ability to work closely with our partners to develop bespoke solutions, which has created an outstanding solar plant for the future.”

The El Romero project included the installation of 60 ABB inverter stations, each rated at 3.6 megawatts. Each inverter site houses two to three inverters in a structure with its own auxiliary power, monitoring, and air filtration systems. The ability to deliver continuous power supply for a data center from the desert power plant was critical to the installation. The ABB UPS system provides protection against power failures, voltage regulation, power factor correction, and harmonics.

Jose Ignacio Escobar, general manager for ACCIONA Energia Chile adds: “Renewable projects as ambitious as the El Romero Solar Plant contribute decisively, so that clean energy can occupy the place it deserves in a sustainable energy model for Chile and the rest of the world.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

World’s First Technology To Measure Electricity Grid Stability Announced

05.10.2017

električna-mreža — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Reactive Technology and the UK’s grid operator National Grid have this week announced the completion of the world’s first technology which is able to continuously measure and monitor an electricity grid’s stability, or system inertia.

UK-based environmental engineering company Reactive Technology partnered with the national grid operator for the UK, National Grid, to build Project SIM, an innovative project which set out to continuously measure grid stability, also known as system inertia, across an entire electricity network.

Until Project SIM there was no way to take a continuous measurement of an electricity grid’s stability or inertia, leaving utilities forced to make estimates with an unknown margin of error. These estimates are used to trade renewables and fossil fuel energy, set multi-year budgets for energy reserve services, as well as long-term investments in grid infrastructure. The obvious problem with this system is that if the original estimate is off or misleading, all the downstream work will be impacted.

Project SIM is therefore able to provide a much greater degree of certainty regarding a grid’s stability, which its creators hope will reduce costs for operators and for end-users, while also help reduce carbon emissions.

Of course, grid stability has been a big topic of late, especially when you take into account the misinformation perpetrated by those advocating against renewable energy technologies, and raising unfounded concerns that renewable energy is putting grid stability at risk. While variable energy sources like renewable technologies including solar and wind do present challenges for grid operators — such as grid security, as well as the just how to integrate variable energy sources — the technologies exist to make this happen.

Project SIM makes use of Reactive Technologies’ GridMetrix solution, providing real-time visibility of grid inertia, allowing grid operators a better understanding of the necessary steps needed to take for their grid. Grid operators will be able to react to any grid destabilisation much faster than before, and with better information. The information provided by these new solutions will also provide grid operators with better information to inform their reinforcement decisions, guide their procurement actions, and more.

“Grid operators around the world are under pressure to bring new technologies into the control room that allow them to meet their obligations on energy costs, security of supply and decarbonisation,” said Marc Borrett, CEO at Reactive Technologies. “With GridMetrix, we’re giving grid operators access to unique direct data measurements from a national level right down to a granular post code level, so they can operate more leanly and better manage the nation’s supply and demand in line with accurate, real-time information.”

“National Grid is proud to be at the forefront of the energy revolution as we enable the uptake of renewable generation, and deliver value for our customers and consumers,” added Duncan Burt, Acting Director of System Operations at National Grid. “Being part of this innovative project to continuously measure inertia will improve our understanding of how to monitor grid stability in a changing energy environment.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Solar Technology Hits Historic ‘New Era’

05.10.2017

photovoltaic-solar — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy in 2016, surpassing the net growth of all other energy sources including coal, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA report found new solar capacity increased by 50 percent last year, and IEA executive director Fatih Birol hailed solar’s rapid growth. “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar photovoltaics [PV],” she told the Guardian: We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology up to 2022.”

The report also shows renewables as a whole accounted for two-thirds of all new energy capacity in 2016. “We see renewables growing by about 1,000 GW (gigawatts) by 2022, which equals about half of the current global capacity in coal power, which took 80 years to build,” Birol said in a statement accompanying the report.

The authority, which is funded by 28 member governments, admitted it had previously underestimated the speed at which green energy was growing.

Source: ecowatch.com

MEPs Urge EU to Ratchet Up Climate Target

05.10.2017

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have agreed a new resolution urging EU leaders to set out a 2050 net zero emissions target for the bloc by 2020.

In a vote on Wednesday, ahead of the UN’s COP23 meeting in Bonn next month November, MEPs called on leaders to ramp up the EU’s climate targets and step up efforts to grow the green economy.

Under the rules of the UN climate change framework, all UNFCCC parties have to set out their long-term climate plans by 2020. MEPs agreed the EU must do this as soon as possible, and include in its targets a mid-century zero emissions strategy that is in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to “well below” two degrees.

They also called for the Commission to do more to promote the forging of new links between the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) and other carbon markets, and issued fresh calls for more private investment to be tethered to climate risk considerations.

The resolution was welcomed by campaigners at Climate Action Network (CAN). “MEPs send a strong signal to all EU decision makers to step up and commit to more ambitious climate action,” Wendel Trio, the group’s director, said.

The MEPs also condemned President Trump’s decision earlier this year to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, declaring the decision represents “a step backwards”.

However, they noted the strong responses the decision elicited from world leaders that suggest Trump’s stance will not be widely adopted elsewhere.

Source: businessgreen.com

China Is Showing the World What Renewable Energy Dominance Looks Like

05.10.2017

The growth of solar energy continues to outpace forecasts and this growth, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Energy Agency, (IEA) “is a China story.”

While China today is far and away the global leader in solar generation, a decade ago, the country had just 100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity installed. That’s nothing. For reference, it’s actually less than is currently installed in the city of San Antonio. By the end of 2016, China had increased its solar PV capacity by nearly 800 times, with more than 77 gigawatts currently installed.

China’s solar dominance is only going to keep growing, according to the IEA report. As Dr. Paolo Frankl, one of the lead authors on the report, said on a call to reporters, “In one year, China will install the equivalent of the total history of solar development in Germany.”

The stunning growth trajectories reflected in the IEA report show how quickly the transition to renewables can be underway when aggressive policies cut through the barriers to growth.

The Renewables 2017 report takes a deep dive into renewable energy deployment across all industries and throughout the world, but the dominance of solar PV stands out. As a whole, renewables represented nearly two-thirds of new electricity capacity additions last year, far outshining coal and natural gas growth. For the very first time, solar PV additions grew faster than any other resource, surpassing coal growth.

Put simply: The world is now building more solar than coal generation, a trend that looks to continue, regardless of any uncertainty in current American energy policy. Most new demand for electricity is being supplied by renewable resources, with solar providing the most.

“The star is really becoming solar PV, which becomes the leader in renewable growth,” said Frankl.

The report forecasts out the next five years of renewable energy growth, a short time-frame that is easier to project than some forecasts—like, say, the Energy Information Agency—that are routinely criticized. Over the next five years, the IEA anticipates renewables growing by roughly 1,000 gigawatts. “That is half of the total capacity of coal fired power plants worldwide,” said Frankl, “and it has taken 80 years to build all of those.”

Did you get that? Over the next half decade, the world will install half as much renewable energy as the current entire global capacity of coal power.

As China is proving, there is a dramatic shift in how emerging economies are powering their development. From the report:

Along with new policies that spur competition in several other countries, this Chinese dynamic has led to record-low announced prices of solar PV and onshore wind, which are now comparable or even lower than new-built fossil fuel alternatives.

Developing countries are now looking to renewables as engines of economic growth. This includes India, which according to this year’s forecast, will soon leap ahead of the European Union with the third largest growth in renewable capacity, after China and the U.S. “Soon—and, we hope, very soon—African countries may see the next wave of development supported by cheap renewable power,” the IEA report anticipates.

Despite the clear trajectory of global energy supply towards renewables, as reflected in this IEA report, the Trump administration is currently threatening tariffs on cheaper Chinese solar panels and has just proposed a bailout for uneconomical coal plants. “What would the tariff accomplish?” Frankl asked rhetorically. He then answered, “One thing is for sure: they would make U.S. PV much more expensive than it is today.” Because Chinese companies account for more than 60 percent of global PV manufacturing—and thus set global PV prices—and American companies produce relatively little to the global market, it’s hard to project how the proposed tariff would effectively rescue the American companies. Rather, it would slow PV deployment in the U.S. at precisely the time the rest of the world is pivoting aggressively to solar.

Source: ecowatch.com

US Solar Increased 4,500% & Wind 350% Over 10 Years, Claims NRDC

05.10.2017

The US National Resources Defense Council claims that the country’s solar energy capacity increased by 4,500% between 2006 and 2016, while the country’s wind capacity increased by 350%.

The National Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) fifth annual energy report, America’s Clean Energy Revolution, was published this week, confirming that the country shattered dozens of clean energy records over the last year and a half and proving that a massive shift is underway in America’s energy landscape from traditional fossil fuels and nuclear towards renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

“America’s clean energy revolution proves that we don’t have to choose between the environment and a booming economy,” said Amanda Levin, report co-author and NRDC clean energy advocate. “Clean energy not only cuts pollution, it’s also one of the fast-growing areas for U.S. jobs and contributes billions to our nation’s economy annually.

“When you look at how clean energy development has exploded beyond official government projections from just 10 years ago, it offers hope that its potential will continue to far surpass expectations and we’ll meet our U.S. climate goals.”

The new NRDC report also highlighted the inaccuracies made by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 2006. Specifically, the EIA predicted that the country’s solar energy capacity would only increase by less than 1 GW (gigawatt) — a blindingly baffling prediction, not simply because the end result was actually 46-times the forecast figure. Further, the EIA predicted only 18 GW worth of wind would be installed, when in fact 82 GW was installed between 2006 and 2016.

The EIA also predicted that carbon dioxide pollution would be 25% higher than it was in 2016, while simultaneously misreading the level of energy efficiency measures, leading to energy consumption being 17% below the EIA’s projection.

Unsurprisingly, the EIA also failed to predict the decline of coal power in America, which dropped 45% compared the EIA’s predicted level.

“Dozens of clean energy records have been shattered across the United States in the last year and a half,” said co-author Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of NRDC’s energy program. “And despite some new political headwinds, ever-improving economics will propel the clean energy transition in the years to come.”

The United States economy grew by 17% between 2005 and 2016, but despite historical trends, the country’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 14% while energy use remained flat. The average US household spent less than 4% of its income on all energy in 2016 — which includes both gasoline and electricity spending. Meanwhile, renewable energy grew to 14% of the total US electricity sales in 2016, with wind and solar accounting for 8% and hydropower and geothermal account for 6%.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Paris Banned All Cars for a Day to Highlight Pollution Issues

04.10.2017

Pedestrians and cyclists cheered two days ago as Paris closed all of its streets to cars. The government held a Car Free Day and the streets filled with bikers, walkers, and roller-bladers instead of smog.

Paris held a Car Free Day in 2015 and 2016 as well. But this was the first time they extended the boundaries to include the entire city. From 11 AM to 6 PM local time, cars were asked to stay off the streets – with exceptions made for emergency vehicles, taxis, and buses. The Paris City Council hosted Car Free Day, together with collective Paris Sans Voiture, or Paris Without Car, which is behind the city-wide car-free idea.

Pollution from cars is often an issue in France’s capital – the Associated Press said mayor Anne Hidalgo was elected after promising to slash air pollution and cut traffic. The government’s statement on the day said one of the Car Free Day’s objectives was “to show that cities can and must invent concrete solutions to fight against pollution” coming from road traffic. They encouraged people to travel by scooters, skates, bikes, or walking.

The symbolic event also brought results. The government said Airparif Association conducted independent measurements during the Car Free Day using sensors and a bicycle outfitted with measuring instruments. They saw “an increased decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels along major roads” and “access roads to the capital.” Meanwhile, the Bruitparif Observatory looked at noise with the help of 11 measurement stations. They saw sound energy decreased 20 percent on average, as compared against a regular Sunday.

Source: inhabitat.com

Saudi Arabia Gets Cheapest Bids for Solar Power in Auction

04.10.2017

Saudi Arabia received offers to supply solar electricity for the cheapest prices ever recorded, marking the start of a $50 billion program to diversify the oil producer’s domestic energy supplies away from fossil fuels.

The energy ministry said Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Electricite de France SA bid to supply power from a 300-megawatt photovoltaic plant for as little as 6.69736 halalas a kilowatt hour, or 1.79 cents, according to a webcast of the bid-opening ceremony on Tuesday in Riyadh. If awarded, that would beat the previous record for a solar project in Abu Dhabi for 2.42 cents a kilowatt-hour.

Saudi Arabia and its neighbors are among Middle Eastern oil producers looking to renewables to feed growing domestic consumption that’s soaking up crude they’d rather export to generate income. While the offers submitted are remarkably low, the actual cost of power coming from the projects may be inflated by terms within the contracts that aren’t yet published, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Zurich.

“There is great pressure in the Middle East to come up with an impressive headline number, and these are becoming increasingly divorced from the reality of payments,” said Jenny Chase, chief solar analyst for BNEF in Zurich.

The Middle East, rich in oil and natural gas, is trailing most other regions in developing renewables such as solar and wind. Governments from the United Arab Emirates to Iran and Saudi Arabia have spent the past two years sketching out incentive programs and regulatory changes needed to jump-start their clean-energy industries, which remain a fraction of the scale built up in places like Japan and Germany where energy is scarce.

Saudi Arabia’s price may reflect a “base rate” paid at periods of peak demand or a price that applies only for part of the project’s life, Chase said. It also could include a payment to the winning developer, land grants or other incentives to get the solar industry started in Saudi Arabia, she said.

“I don’t think this is possible as an all-in price of electricity from a 2019 PV project, particularly given the rising cost of debt in Saudi Arabia,” Chase said.

Even so, the announcement is a milestone in Saudi Arabia’s nascent solar program. The country that gets less than 1 percent of its power from renewables currently plans to develop 30 solar and wind projects over the next 10 years.

Officials at the ministry’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office will review all the bids presented before awarding a power-purchase contract, according to the webcast. It plans to make a final decision on who will build the solar plant at Sakaka in the country’s north in January, according to an emailed statement from the office.

The plant will be the first awarded under the renewables program, which targets 9,500 megawatts of electricity generation capacity using solar and wind by 2030. The project is set to start producing power by June 2019, according to the bid.

Saudi power-plant developer ACWA Power made the second-lowest bid at 8.7815 halalas per kilowatt-hour, and a group led by Marubeni Corp. made the third-lowest bid. Masdar, officially named Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., and EDF are already partners in an 800-megawatt project in Dubai.

Prices for solar projects in the Middle East have set successive records with first Dubai and then Abu Dhabi coming in with all-time low power pricing. A combination of improving and less costly technology, free land earmarked for the plants, connections to the national power grid and favorable financing have helped cut the costs.

The large size of the projects being offered has also played a key role, as developers have been able to bid lower prices for electricity because of anticipated economies of scale.

Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy program is part of a broader project to wean the economy from its reliance on oil exports. The government is seeking to build new industries such as petrochemicals, manufacturing and tourism. State crude giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, is preparing to sell a stake of about 5 percent in an initial public offering that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said could value the company at about $2 trillion and provide cash to help diversify the economy.

Source: bloomberg.com

Geologists: Holocene Epoch Ended, ‘Anthropocene’ Started in 1950s

04.10.2017

Klimatske promene, Planeta zemlja, Globus — Foto: Pixabay

A group of scientists said that the scope of human impact on planet Earth is so great that the “Anthropocene” warrants a formal place in the Geological Time Scale.

“Our findings suggest that the Anthropocene should follow on from the Holocene Epoch that has seen 11.7 thousand years of relative environmental stability, since the retreat of the last Ice Age, as we enter a more unstable and rapidly evolving phase of our planet’s history,” said professor Jan Zalasiewicz from the University of Leicester’s School of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, in a statement released Monday.

The scientsts wrote:
“We conclude that human impact has now grown to the point that it has changed the course of Earth history by at least many millennia, in terms of the anticipated long-term climate effects (e.g. postponement of the next glacial maximum: see Ganopolski et al., 2016; Clark et al., 2016), and in terms of the extensive and ongoing transformation of the biota, including a geologically unprecedented phase of human-mediated species invasions, and by species extinctions which are accelerating (Williams et al., 2015, 2016).”

Defining characteristics of the period include:
“marked acceleration of rates of erosion and sedimentation; large-scale chemical perturbations to the cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements; the inception of significant change in global climate and sea level; and biotic changes including unprecedented levels of species invasions across the Earth. Many of these changes are geologically long-lasting, and some are effectively irreversible.”

The findings from the international team led by the University of Leicester were presented last year at the International Geological Congress at Cape Town, South Africa, but were just published online in the journal Anthropocene.

Use of the word coined by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen in 2000 is not new, but so far it’s been merely an informal description of the time period when human activity started significantly altering the planet. The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), which comprises experts from a range of fields, has been tackling the issue of whether it should be a formal declaration since 2009.

According to the group, the answer is clear: the Anthropocene is real; it should be formalized; and it should be defined as an epoch (rather than another classification such as a sub-age or era). The group suggested that the new epoch’s “golden spike” (or physical reference point) that marks its start is the plutonium fallout from nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s.

Going forward, they wrote, it seems likely that “human impacts will become increasingly significant.”

Getting the formal classification is not a done deal, as more analysis is needed, and a stamp of approval from the International Commission of Stratigraphy (ICS) could be years off. Still, said honorary chair of AWG, Colin Waters of the Geology Depart of the University of Leicister, “Whatever decision is ultimately made, the geological reality of the Anthropocene is now clear.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Vestas Announces Flurry Of Wind Turbine Orders Totaling 463 Megawatts

04.10.2017

Vestas Wind Systems A/S announced a flurry of wind turbine orders to mark the end of the third quarter last week, with orders from the United States, India, Europe, and Latin America totaling 463 megawatts.

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S announced on September 29, the last business day of the third quarter, eight separate wind turbine orders that amounted to 463 MW (megawatts), including a 174 MW order from MidAmerican Energy for part of its massive 2 GW (gigawatt) Wind XI project being developed in Iowa. In total, the orders will be shipped to the United States, India, Argentina, Mexico, and three projects in Italy.

The largest order was the 174 MW order for the MidAmerican Energy Wind XI project being developed in Iowa. Vestas will manufacture turbines at its Colorado factories and will begin delivery in the second quarter of 2018.

“The historic Wind XI project will harness low-cost wind energy for MidAmerican Energy’s customers, all while enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the grid,” said Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “Vestas is proud to deliver its industry leading technology to this project that will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits, including landowner lease payments, tax payments, and long-term secure jobs.”

Vestas will also provide 40 MW to Atria Brindavan Power Private Limited in India for the first phase of the Basavane Bagewadi Wind Farm in the Bijapur district of Karnataka state, which expected delivery and commissioning expected for the first quarter of 2018.

“India is a key market for Vestas and this order underlines the 2 MW platform’s high versatility, which together with Vestas’ strong service set-up makes it a great fit for the Indian market,” explained Clive Turton, President of Vestas Asia Pacific. “We look forward to deliver a top-performing wind energy power plant together with Atria Power.”

Argentinan Parques Eólicos Vientos del Sur S.A., a subsidiary of Grupo Frali S.A., placed an order with Vestas for 40 MW worth of wind turbines as part of Argentina’s RenovAr 1.5 auction, which will go to the La Banderita wind park in the City of General Acha, Province of La Pampa, Argentina. Delivery is planned for the third quarter of 2018 which will be followed by commissioning in the first quarter of 2019.

“We welcome Argentina’s strong bet on the development of wind energy and we are pleased to have taken part in this process since the very beginning,” said Marco Graziano, President of Vestas Mediterranean. “In less than a year, Vestas has consolidated its leadership in the country with orders for close to 700 MW. Almost half of this order intake has derived from the last two RenovAr auctions, showcasing our strengths and capabilities in auctions. This new accomplishment clearly underlines our customers’ trust and confidence in our solutions, people and expertise.”

The company also received an order stemming from the second Mexico renewable auction last year, an order for 93 MW worth of wind turbines for a wind park in the Northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Delivery is expected for the third quarter of 2018 and commissioning its planned for some time in 2019.

Finally, four separate orders for Italy were announced by Vestas last week, totalling 118 MW.

Vestas will provide 38 MW across two smaller projects, the Taverna Caduta (23 MW) and San Mauro (15 MW) projects, both of which were among the winning projects in the Italian energy auction held in November of last year. Vestas will also provide 38 MW to the Monteverde wind park to be installed in Avellino province in the south of Italy being developed by Tozzi Sud S.P.A. Finally, Vestas will also provide 40 MW to the Lavello wind park being developed by Bel Lavello Vigi, a joint venture between Belenergia, mostly active in Italy, and Langa/Rgreen Invest, a leading French operator.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Britain Delivers Greenest Ever Half Hour of Electricity Production

04.10.2017

The UK enjoyed its greenest ever half hour period of electricity production on Monday morning, as wind and nuclear provided the bulk of electricity and coal was pushed off the grid entirely.

Between 12.30am and 1am on Monday night the carbon intensity of grid electricity dropped to a record low of 73 grams of CO2 per kWh, National Grid said yesterday, with fossil fuels providing just 11 per cent of output.

Delivering a carbon intensity of below 100g per kWh for the UK grid electricity is seen as a watermark for the UK to meet its carbon reduction targets, with the government’s climate change watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, recommending it becomes the norm for grid energy by 2030.

Although Monday’s reading of 73g CO2 per kWh was a record low, National Grid’s new two-day carbon intensity forecast correctly predicted the carbon intensity of the grid would again drop below 100 grams per kWh this morning, and it is expected to do so twice more this week.

The new forecasting tool is designed to help utilities nudge consumers on the best time to charge laptops, electric cars or other energy intensive devices, and National Grid hopes it will pave the way for new apps and devices that promote demand shifting to greener times of the day.

James Beard, climate and energy specialist at WWF UK, said this week’s results were a “huge step in the right direction”, but warned more work is needed for the UK to hit its climate targets.

“The UK government’s long-overdue Clean Growth Plan must set out clearly how we will continue to reduce our emissions and boost investment not just in renewables, but also energy efficiency and electric vehicles,” he said.

In related news, data released last week by the US Department of Energy found renewable energy production in America was up 10 per cent in the first six months of 2017 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Solar production and use grew by almost 40 per cent, hydropower by 16 per cent, wind by 15 per cent, and geothermal by one per cent. In comparison, the US’ overall consumption of fossil fuels was down by one per cent compared to the same period last year, although coal production was up 16 per cent.

“Notwithstanding desperate efforts by the Trump Administration to prop up nuclear power and fossil fuels, they continue to lose ground to the mix of renewable energy sources,” noted Ken Bossong, executive director of green energy campaign group the SUN DAY Campaign.

Source: businessgreen.com

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